High praise for the US soccer capital: Visitors thank KC for ‘unreal’ World Cup
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- A Reddit user described KC crowds as unforgettable and unified.
- The Orange Walk drew the largest U.S. turnout at 22,000 and flooded downtown in orange.
- Fan Fest volunteers, shuttle drivers and KC staff received widespread praise for service.
From June 11 to July 11, the world was invited to town for a uniquely Kansas City World Cup experience. Now that FIFA’s presence is departing from the soccer capital of the U.S., travelers are coming out from the Reddit woodworks to share their overwhelmingly positive experiences in the Heart of America at its best.
From adopting international teams into the city’s culture to KC natives supporting from rooftops, balconies and offices, the World Cup in Kansas City seems to be one that many, like user Travel_via_Tardis, will remember.
“It really reminded me that even in divided times people can still come together and be unified by a common interest. It reminds me what is possible,” Travel_via_Tardis wrote in a post.
An energetic, welcoming and joyous atmosphere
Inside Kansas City Stadium, the energy was described as “unforgettable,” and not fully captured through a TV screen. The crowds would lead chants in unison, and fans celebrated side by side.
One of the pinnacle moments of KC’s World Cup was the enormous flood of orange that took over downtown during the Dutch fans’ Orange Walk on June 25. According to FIFA, the ritual began in 2004 when a group of friends bought an old double-decker bus and painted it orange and white. The spectacle has grown to be a practically required pregame event for the Netherlands fanbase.
One Reddit user shared excitement about singing and dancing alongside the famous bus.
“Like wow you see these things happening on TV for years and you wish you could be part of it one day,” Canadian and Venezuelan user carloscede2 said in a post.
A top 1% user on r/kansascity shared a similar sentiment, saying they joined the parade with their family and called the city “unreal.” The Orange Walk in KC, which had the largest U.S. turnout at 22,000, partied, chanted and marched from Power & Light to Fan Fest.
DishAffectionate2731 discussed the rain that followed the Orange Walk, forcing an early closure of Fan Fest. An ensuing mob of fans trying to take the stadium shuttle to the Netherlands-Tunisia match got mercilessly down poured on. Luckily, they had visited Fan Fest prior to the parade, where they "partied, chatted and drank with locals and fans from all over the world.”
“By the time we finally got on, everyone was completely soaked from head to toes,” DishAffectionate2731 wrote in their post. “But somehow, none of that mattered. People started singing, chanting, and cheering together on the street while standing in the rain. Instead of being frustrating by the miserable weather, it almost became part of the experience. The atmosphere was incredible and raw.”
Using the shuttles, buses and KC Streetcar
Besides the June 25 rain causing confusion on the buses at the stadium, users generally praised the transportation options around the city.
Canadian user Sleepy Orange007 posted that while the wait for buses post-match were long, they understood given the number of people trying to leave the stadium. The shuttle to the stadium prior to the match, they said, left early at 3 instead of their scheduled time at 3:30. The user and their husband had heard rumors of this being the case and made sure to get there at 2:45, just in case.
Around the Colombia-Ghana match, user demoticusername said that the shuttles, offered both around town and to and from the airport, ran smoothly, allowing them to explore the Overland Park farmers market, Ponak’s, Roasterie and Dad’s Bakeshop.
The KC Streetcar was also fan favorite for exploring the city.
“We used it back and forth to explore your city and it was super clutch,” carloscede2 wrote. “Air conditioning and it was coming every 5 minutes, I could only wish my city (Ottawa) had something like that but we don’t. City Market, Country Plaza, Crossroads, Power and Light, Westport, we got to see all these areas and they all had something to offer.”
Some visitors like DishAffectionate2731 used scooters to get around downtown and get to FIFA Fan Fest.
The friendly faces of Kansas City
Kansas City’s “warm, open-minded and incredibly welcoming” energy cultivated in a strong city chemistry.
Travel_via_Tardis thanked shop-keepers with “plentiful recommendations,” unique stores offering local products, friendly folks simply walking on the street, bus drivers with smiles, hardworking hotel staff, rideshare drivers that were born abroad for sharing their stories of belonging and KC police that kept a “frantic army of visitors” safe.
“Even with this little passage, I don’t feel I’ve done justice to the warm welcome you gave me,” Travel_via_Tardis wrote.
Some like demoticusername were worried and even apprehensive to come to KC in the wake of shootings and England’s team equipment being stolen, but said that everything went fine.
Despite heat waves, severe weather, massive crowds and potentially unfamiliar cultures or languages, Fan Fest’s volunteers and ConnectKC26’s bus drivers are continuously praised across related posts.
One Fan Fest worker took to Reddit, prompting users to ask them about the experience. Once commenter mentioned how happy all the volunteers seemed, and the poster responded by saying that the best way to cut through long, hot days was interactions with the fans.
“Every volunteer we encountered displayed genuine enthusiasm, friendliness, and sometimes encouragement,” commented another user, sekst23. “Shout out to the volunteer who made me feel like I was running a long distance race and COULD do it on the way up that hill! The people I encountered represented KC well!!”
Poster NegroniSpritz captioned a simple video post “Thank you, Kansas! You’re awesome! 🇺🇸❤️🩵🇦🇷,” with a video of mayor Quinton Lucas cheering alongside Argentina fans at a rally.
